Nashville Country Music Marathon 2008 (part 1)

My flight out to Nashville for my third marathon was on Thursday April 24. It was a pretty full flight, and somehow I wound up with a window seat. Which wasn't right; I'm certain I'd asked for an aisle.

I felt good about the trip, though. I'd trained hard and prepared well. I double and triple checked my baggage before leaving, and had everything I'd need: trademark Superman jersey and blue shorts, Runner's Edge socks, shoes, Garmin GPS, sunglasses, hat, gloves (just in case) and iPod loaded up with the Star Wars audio drama. I had the good wishes of all my family, friends, and coworkers. Yep, it was going to be a great race weekend.

After an uneventful but cramped flight, I had little difficulty in securing a cab. However, the cab had considerable difficulty in finding my hotel! To begin with, he had no idea where it was. However, when he used his onboard GPS to find it (what an age we live in!), he missed a turn on the highway and wound up getting completely lost! Thank god I'd taken the time to print out several maps. By giving him another nearby hotel with which, mercifully, he was familiar, I was able to get the result I desired--namely, arriving safely at my hotel. Thankfully he didn't charge me for the extra half hour the trip took.

I'd been scheduled to do one last 2-mile run on Thursday, and had originally planned on doing it in Aurora before flying to Tennessee; but something my boss said on Wednesday had got me thinking it might be a good idea to run it out in Nashville (in fact, I believe his exact words were, "Don't you think it might be a good idea to run it out in Nashville?"). So I did. I had two observations after doing so: 1)Man, is there ever a lot of air out here, and 2)don't these people believe in sidewalks? Fortunately there wasn't much traffic; and what little there was, was very obliging.

I finished the run oddly drenched in sweat (it was kind of humid) but feeling like I'd only run one mile. As if I'd needed more convincing that Saturday was going to be a great run.

On Friday after a solid night's sleep I went to the expo. It was very well organized, and very well run. I got through the lines and picked up my bib, timing chip, t-shirt, and goody bag with no troube, then spent some time exploring before sitting in on two of the clinics. The first, hosted by John "The Penguin" Bingham, focused on having a good mental attitude and parlaying that into a successful marathon. The second, from his wife Coach Jenny Hadfield, addressed strategies for dealing with the "hills" on the course, as well as some pre- and post-race tips. Both clinics were informative, relaxed, and very enjoyable. Actually both clinics touched on a wide range of subjects, including fueling, hydration, pacing, effort, and the mother of all racing taboos: trying something new on race day. Later, I had the opportunity to meet Olympic medalist and Bolder BOULDER founder Frank Shorter, who autographed my Country Music Marathon jersey.

Next: marathon day!